To increase dealmaking in China, Pfizer has built a Shanghai-based business development team. On the one hand, the mega-pharma is looking forward to revenue growth in the China pharma market, while on the other hand it expects Chinaâ€™s famously fragmented pharmaceutical industry to begin a long-awaiting process of consolidation.

by: ChinaBio Today
To increase dealmaking in China, Pfizer has built a Shanghai-based business development team. On the one hand, the mega-pharma is looking forward to revenue growth in the China pharma market, while on the other hand it expects Chinaâ€™s famously fragmented pharmaceutical industry to begin a long-awaiting process of consolidation. For both reasons, China figures largely in the companyâ€™s development plans for the next three to five years.
The analysis and news came from Jean-Michel Halfon, who is head of Pfizerâ€™s emerging business division. â€śChina is ready for consolidation,â€ť Halfon said in an interview reported in bloomberg.com. â€śThere is an opportunity for Pfizer to play a catalyst role and be a potential partner for these companies.â€ť
In the next five years, Pfizer expects that 70% of its growth will be in emerging countries, especially China, India, Brazil and Mexico. Halfon admitted that it cannot charge the same prices for in products in China as it can in the US, but its operations are â€śdecently\" profitable.
China, along with other emerging markets, will also be helpful to Pfizer on the cost and product side, according to Halfon. \"We will need more Aurobindos to build our portfolio,\" he said, referring to a licensing deal Pfizer signed with the Indian pharmaceutical company in May 2009.
Last yearâ€™s Wyeth acquisition added some bulk to Pfizerâ€™s market share in emerging markets. In Q3, the transaction added about 35%, bringing its emerging-markets revenue from $1.6 billion to over $2 billion, an annual rate of $8 billion plus. Analysts predict the company will book almost $50 billion in revenues during 2009. The companyâ€™s Q3 ex-Wyeth revenues represent a growth rate of 9%.
In China, Pfizer expects to increase its sales force by almost 40%, bringing the total number of sales employees to 3,200 in 2011. By next year, the company will have offices in 252 cities, up from 177 in 2009. Itâ€™s hard to argue with the growth of the pharmaceutical market in China. It climbed 39% to $24.5 billion in 2008, and it is expected to claim the number three spot worldwide in 2011. It was ninth as recently as 2003, according to IMS Health Inc. In China, Pfizerâ€™s largest selling product is Norvasc, a drug that treats hypertension. Norvasc was able to garner top place even though it faces generic competition.
This article was sourced from articles in Bloomberg, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.